Press Release
April 16, 2020

Utah’s Unemployment Insurance Claims Report (April 5-11)
Federal stimulus program availability updates for Utahns

SALT LAKE CITY (April 16, 2020) — The number of new claims filed for unemployment benefits in Utah was 24,171 for the week of April 5 to April 11, 2020. Part of the Unemployment Insurance system is filing a weekly claim, there were 74,441 weekly claims filed during that same week. A total of $11,661,720 was paid in traditional unemployment benefits reflecting payments going out and claims being processed in the midst of a record volume. This was the first week of the CARES Act $600 weekly stimulus being available.  An additional $6,445,260 of this stimulus was paid out to claimants, for a total of $18,106,980 in unemployment benefits for the week.

Utah’s Unemployment Insurance Claims April 5-11
	Total New Claims	% Change (+/-)	Total Weekly Claims	% Change (+/-)	State Benefits Paid	% Change (+/-)	$600 Stimulus Paid
04/05/20 to 04/11/20	24,171		74,441		$11,661,720		$6,445,260
			Combined Benefits		$18,106,980
Week over Week	33,076	-27%	33,290	124%	$6,881,153	163%
Average Weekly Claims 2019	1,131	2,037%	8,856	741%	$2,876,354	530%

As announced on Wednesday, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance as part of the CARES Act is now available for Utahns to apply. This program will extend benefits to individuals previously ineligible for traditional unemployment benefits such as self-employed or gig economy workers. For a list of other potentially eligible individuals visit the CARES Act and Unemployment Insurance FAQ.

Another resource available to all claimants is the “Am I Eligible?” feature on jobs.utah.gov.  Any claimant can enter their Social Security Number; if it comes back with an eligible monetary decision the claimant should apply for unemployment, ineligible decisions should apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

Claimants should expect 21-30 days for the processing of all applications and should continue filing a weekly claim available on Sundays. To apply visit jobs.utah.gov/covid19.

“I am proud of the continued work by our unemployment insurance team through unprecedented times and workloads,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “Our priority remains processing claims and providing Utahns with the benefits they’re in need of. We are accomplishing this as the benefits going out continue to grow and two new federal programs have been created and made available”

The number of individuals who ended their unemployment insurance claim on April 4, 2020 was 1,022. A total of 1,112 ended their claim during the previous week. As the state continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, this number will help demonstrate the number of individuals no longer accessing unemployment benefits.

The three industries that saw the highest percentage of claims this week, as self-identified by the claimant at the time of their filing, were Office and Administrative Support (13%), Sales and Related Occupations (12%) and Food Preparation and Serving (9.5%).